


3 dudes under the mistletoe

by vinnyhz



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Angst, Feels, M/M, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, Rejection, it might not be what you expect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-11-05 21:15:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11021748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vinnyhz/pseuds/vinnyhz
Summary: Yu Narukami visits Inaba for the holidays after 2 years.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based off of a bunch of random ideas I jotted down. I'm trying my best to put them together and make it work.

As Japan was approaching their holiday season, a young man in around his first year of college suddenly had a revolutionary idea while sitting in the library, barely glancing at his notes. In all actuality, it wasn't revolutionary at all, but he did think it was an entirely fantastic idea that he should have come up with sooner.  
It had been two years since Yu Narukami had left Inaba after an entire hectic, yet positively memorable year dedicated not only to solving a mystery, but to discovering his true self.  
Or maybe not HIS true self, but rather the friends he had made along the way. Yu thought he was generally a kind person, and that he really didn't have anything to hide. He thought of himself as a decent person, but maybe he was just too oblivious to his own self.  
He had been the person to receive his Persona first without having to face a shadow of his "inner self", while the friends he had made had to. They all had some kind of different inner turmoil. Yu had thought to himself something along the lines of, "if I didn't have a shadow self, that means there must be nothing wrong with me," and overall he was satisfied with that conclusion.  
But his revolutionary idea in the library was so innocent, that he thought he should have no reason to think about those sorts of things. He wanted to go back to Inaba. He wanted to see Nanako; he wanted to see all his friends that stood by him for that year. The year that flew by so fast.  
He missed them all dearly, and he even contacted them through text or even an occasional call… sort of. He hadn't been able to keep in contact with everyone, like he had promised. Maybe if he went to Inaba he could reconnect with those and hope for the best he didn't lose them.  
It was decided. He was going back. He was going to spend holidays with Nanako, Uncle Dojima, Yukiko, Chie, Kanji, Naoto, Teddie, everybody.  
Everybody including Yosuke.  
Yosuke was one person he really regretted not keeping too much contact with. His best friend, the one who deemed him his partner. The one who looked up to him. He hoped returning to Inaba wouldn't cause some sort of tension because of unkept promises. After all, Yosuke's texts to Yu were always unexpected. They were so distant now, physically, and possibly emotionally as well.  
Yu snapped out of his thoughts for a brief moment, realizing that he hadn't studied at all the entire time. In order to get the feeling of unease out of his system, he abruptly stood up and rushed out of the library.  
He was booking a train ticket.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dialogue heavy over the phone with uncle dojima

"Skipping a bit of school won't hurt to get there a little bit early, Dojima. I know you're concerned but I promise I'll be able to keep my grades up."  
Yu was laying back on his dorm bed, on his phone talking to his uncle about what he had planned. He could hear Dojima let out a sigh, but the chuckle mixed in with it was a good sign.  
"I know I'm not your dad, Yu, so I won't ask anything specific of you. Just make sure you're responsible for yourself alright? What exact date are you planning on being here?"  
Yu smiled, although he knew his uncle couldn't see him. "I booked a ticket already and I should be here exactly a week before the 25th. So, the 18th. Sorry to spring this on you so suddenly Dojima, but I'm hoping I can-"  
"No worries, Yu. You're a part of our family too, and I'm always willing to accommodate you. The 18th is a Thursday, right?"  
"Yes, and I'll be arriving around noon I believe. Does that work for you?"  
There was silence for a bit.  
"Uncle, you there?"  
"Yeah, I was just thinking," Dojima paused again, "I should be able to do that. I'll have to tell Nanako that I won't be able to pick her up, so she should walk home."  
"But doesn't Nanako come out of school later?"  
Yu shifted in the bed a bit, trying to make himself comfortable again as he questioned his uncle's choice.  
"That's true. I'm sorry, I had a whole other idea envisioned, but I guess I could go get you and take you home, and then pick up Nanako. Either way it would be a surprise."  
"So you were thinking about how Nanako would react to seeing me?" Yu laughed a bit, and Dojima chuckled in response.  
"Yeah, it's been obvious, but she really loves you, and I wanted to surprise her. With you." Dojima laughed a bit louder this time. "Now that I put it that way, it sounds weird, doesn't it?"  
"No, it really doesn't. I'd be glad to see her, and you, and keep you both a little extra company."  
"Thanks. You're a really thoughtful nephew. So how long are you planning on staying? Just asking so I can get prepared."  
"Maybe not the whole break, I was thinking until New Year's. You guys should get some of the break to yourselves too."  
"That sounds just fine. Lookin' forward to having you over, Yu."  
"Thanks."  
Yu hung up, put down his phone, and sprawled out on the bed. He fixated his gaze on the barren ceiling, and after a few seconds, felt nauseated. He was okay though. That was what he was always going to tell himself.


	3. Chapter 3

December 18th, 2014  
Yu Narukami groggily stumbled over the steps leading to the outside of the Inaba train station. He set his baggage out onto the pavement. The area was almost isolated, just as it used to be, and he found it pleasant. Nostalgic. It was a quarter past noon, and Dojima was not around yet. He wanted to look around the small town; go to the local family owned shops and appreciate the rural community just like he did those couple years ago, but it wouldn't be wise to disappear like that.  
Plopped down on the steps of the train station, Yu started to fidget with his gray hair. He parted his bangs down the middle and tucked each separated part behind his ears. It felt comfortable, but he just wondered how ridiculous it looked. His conscience was telling him to put it back to normal and he did just that. He was back to his bowl-cut self.  
After about 10 minutes, a van began to approach. It stopped a few feet away from where Yu was sitting, and the driver door opened to reveal his uncle. He hadn't changed much appearance wise, he still looked like the typical middle-aged man, although he was starting to wrinkle up just a bit. It was natural for someone in his mid 40s.  
"Glad to see you again, Yu." Dojima squinted as he smiled, and approached his nephew to give him a hug. Yu jumped a bit at the action.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, not used to that are ya? Neither am I. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable," a nervous laughter escaped him.  
"It's cool. You're working on it." Yu awkwardly smiled; as much as he loved his uncle, he wasn't the greatest communicator.  
"Sorry I'm a little late, I have to admit I wasn't busy, but I just did not keep track of the time."  
"It's alright. Everyones should be at school anyway so it's not like I was in a hurry."  
School. Kanji, Rise, and Naoto should still be attending the local high school, but the others... Yu hadn't even taken into account that his other friends may have moved away for college. He found himself drifting off, nauseated once again, and Dojima could tell, based on how he was starting to wobble.  
His uncle did not have to question it. A simple, "let's take you home" was said and Yu silently made his way into the drivers seat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hurting my own feelings with my own fanfic

As soon as he entered his uncle's house, Yu was hit with a flash of sentimentality. Some parts of the house looked just the same, and some furniture had been replaced, but at least the kotatsu was still there. He sniffled a bit, feeling his eyes well up, but he didn't want to cry. He wasn't sure that he even needed to cry. He was going to sit at the kotatsu and watch a little bit of television until Nanako came home.  
When it was around time to go pick her up, Dojima waved, and told his nephew in an empathetic tone, "I'll be back soon. You should stay here for Nanako or text your friends… let them know you're here so you could have a little fun. Don't feel too down, Narukami."  
His uncle shut the front door and Yu stared, dosing off a bit.  
He took out his phone, searched through his contacts, and stopped when he reached one, hesitant to press it.  
A gentle voice resonated from the phone's speaker. "Yu? It has been a while since you reached out. Is there anything you need?"   
"Naoto, I'm in Inaba. Are you here?"  
"Huh? You're here? I was wondering why you called at such an... inconvenient time, but this is quite important. I'm at Yasogami currently. Kanji is here too. Would you like me to inform him? Or is there something going on? Are you in trouble? I cou-"  
"Naoto, you're rambling a bit."  
"I apologize. It's just very surprising." She sounded a bit flustered.  
"I came here for break. That's all. I wanted to see you guys, and I just wanted to let you know just in case you guys were free this afternoon… and yes you can tell Kanji. I'd enjoy having you guys hanging out with me again."  
Naoto's breath hitched a bit, trying to cover up her excitement. Yu heard a door open on her end and some unintelligible whispering, and all of a sudden-  
A husky voice chimed in. "Senpai! I heard you're here. Happy to hear that."  
"Hey Kanji. I was just wondering if you guys could come over after school. Or maybe we could set a place to meet up," Yu's speech pace was getting a bit faster with each idea, he was getting too excited for his own good.  
"Didn't you just get here though? Don't you want to spend time with your family first, Yu?" Naoto chimed in.  
"Yeah… it's uh... It's always good to spend quality family time you know?" Kanji's voice got a bit somber for a moment, and more whispering was heard for a few seconds.  
"I mean, it's your choice. We could totally come over, but don't get way ahead of yourself, man."  
Yu couldn't think of anything to say after their rebuttals. He sighed.  
"Alright, I'll rethink it. I'll be here for a while so I'll have my opportunities to see you. If I change my mind, I'll be sure to let you know ahead of time. I shouldn't bother you."  
"It's not a problem at all, Yu. Kanji and I are looking forward to seeing you. I don't know where Rise is right now, but I can let her know you're here."  
"Just a second." Yu cut in, devoid of emotion in his voice for a moment.  
"Something wrong, Senpai?"  
"N-No, it's nothing. I just don't suppose you maybe know where everyone else is?"  
"You didn't call them? Let them know anything?"  
"No."  
"I'm not sure. I believe Yukiko and Chie might be around, but we haven't heard much from Teddie and Yosuke."  
Kanji cleared his throat and shakily asked, "Did you hear about Junes?"  
"No, what about it?"  
"It seems they found a new manager. Yosuke probably moved somewhere else for university as well." Yu's heart sank. Naoto's somber tone was not helping.  
"We just don't know, dude. It sucks."  
"Neither of us have his phone number. I believe we used to, but he either got a new phone or doesn't care to answer."  
There was a silence over the line for what seemed like an eternity.  
"We gotta go now. Call us later if you want. Don't... don't get too worked up about this, okay?"  
Yu hung up without saying a word.


	5. Chapter 5

Yu's head pivoted quickly to look at the front door as he heard steps approaching it. The door opened, and Nanako stepped in with her father, raving on about how her day went to her dad, oblivious to Yu sitting at the kotatsu, but that changed in a matter of seconds, because as soon as she looked towards his general direction, her jaw dropped in shock, and she let out an extremely excited "big bro!" as she ran towards her cousin.  
Yu opened his arms, and she ran straight into them laughing, almost sobbing. He ruffled her hair as he held her tight.  
"You've gotten big, Nanako."  
"You too! I missed you a whole bunch. You surprised me," Nanako cheerfully smiled, still gripping tightly to Yu.  
Nanako had grown out her hair a little bit, and she had gotten a little taller.  
"Daddy! You knew he was here? That was a good surprise!"  
Dojima smiled and nodded. "He'll be here 'till New Years."  
"Wow! You're staying a while big bro. I can tell you what's happened when you weren't here."  
"Sure."  
Nanako let go of her cousin and sat right next to him at the kotatsu. She started to narrate significant events that he had missed. Dojima was sitting at the kitchen counter, eyeing them earnestly. Yu took notice of it, and asked, "Why don't you sit with us?"  
Dojima looked bewildered. "There's no way I'd be of any fun right now. Enjoy yourselves."  
"I insist. You're family."  
Dojima looked down and smiled as he shook his head. He stood up and sat down close to his daughter at the kotatsu so that Nanako was in the middle of the two of them.  
"Did you do anything when I was gone, Yu?" asked Dojima.  
"Just called someone."  
"Was it one of your old friends?"  
"Naoto. Kanji happened to be with her at the same time too, so I let them know I was here."  
"You planning on doing something with them?"  
"Maybe, I was thinking today, but I figured that would be a bit inconvenient for you."  
Nanako chimed in. "Were you going to invite them over?"  
"Ahah, Nanako, is that a bad thing?" Dojima smirked.  
"No! I'd really like to see them again."  
"Really?" Yu was surprised. "I did want them to hang out but I wasn't sure if you guys would be okay with it."  
"It's fine, Yu. Go ahead. The house is clean anyways, so there's no problem with visitors today. Plus, I know how long it's been, so you really should get to see them."  
Yu nodded quickly and rushed up to his room to make a call.


	6. Chapter 6

Nanako called out to her cousin, who was still sitting upstairs. "People are here! It's your friends."  
Yu opened his door just a bit, peered through it, and proceeded downstairs, where he was greeted by Naoto, Kanji… and Rise. He hadn't talked to her, but he just assumed she invited herself. She must have heard from Naoto or Kanji, so of course she came.  
It wasn't a bother to him, he just hoped that now that they were older, her small obsession with him had calmed down or ceased to exist.  
"Hello. It is very nice to see you again," Naoto said, looking up to Yu. She didn't previously use to make direct eye contact with people, but it seemed as if she had gained a bit more confidence.  
"Hi senpai! It's really nice to have you back, especially for christmas season; just think about it! Lights and mistletoe and it's just great timing." Rise smiled modestly and a she twirled a strand of her hair as she anxiously giggled.  
"'Sup man? Been a while. It's great that you came back. We really missed you." Kanji was tall for his age the last time they saw each other, but it seemed as if he grew even more. He also hadn't remembered that Kanji reverted to more of a conventional look. The transition from bleach blond slicked-back hair, aggressive outfits, and multiple piercings to a more modest hairstyle featuring his natural dark hair color, piercings removed, a simple sweatshirt and pants and… glasses. He had seen him like this before, but he had forgotten, and every time he visualized Kanji after he left Inaba he thought of how he used to look. Yu couldn't help but stare up at him.  
"Hey uh, Yu? You okay man? You look kinda spaced out." Kanji tilted his head. He was... very handsome. Not that he wasn't before but…  
Naoto looked to Yu, then to Kanji, and shook her head.  
"Yes. I'm… I'm alright. I missed you all too." Yu immediately looked away from them and twiddled his thumbs. "You're welcome to come in all the way. I can't have all of you just standing at the doorway the entire time." He scratched at the back of his neck as he led them into the living room.  
Nanako had already made herself comfortable at the kotatsu, and she was smiling widely.  
"Nanako! You've got real big. Still cute as sh- Still cute as ever!" Kanji was smiling huge, and he continued to ramble about how cute she was and how if she needed any new outfits to just ask him and other things as Nanako giggled.  
Rise joined in with the praise for her, but Yu noticed something off.  
Naoto seemed eager to say something. She looked towards the two rambling to Nanako, opened her mouth as if to say something, but she didn't go along with it. She looked down.  
"Naoto?" The noise around Yu seemed to drown out. "You alright?" "I have some news that, considering your... circumstances, may prove troublesome." "Circumstances?" "Mind if we go upstairs?" Naoto looked to the side awkwardly. Yu nodded. Kanji, Rise and Nanako became quiet, and their eyes trailed the two other teenagers and they walked upstairs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naoto is the bearer of news, and Yu is conflicted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter sorry

Yu shut the door gently. Naoto sat herself on his bed. Her face was red; you could tell she was uncomfortable.  
"What's up? What did you mean by 'my circumstances'?" Yu sat down next to her, confused but attentive.  
"I saw the way you looked at him."  
"Looked at... what? What do you mean?"  
"Kanji. I should advise you not to attempt to let this sudden admiration affect your current relationship with him, because I am the bearer of some news."  
"Hold on, h-hold on. I mean, just because he looks good doesn't mean I want to date him... H-he's my friend and I haven't seen him for a while and..." Yu's face was flushed once again, and Naoto sighed.  
"Yosuke texted me. I... informed him about you coming for the holidays, and he wants to come see you. Am I correct in assuming that you and him had something going on?"  
"He's what? I mean... why is he answering your texts, he hasn't been answering mine?"  
"You're not denying my question."  
"Because I can't deny it without lying, Naoto." Yu covered his face with his hands sheepishly. "We never dated but I could tell I felt something more than just friendship for him. I don't know if he took it that way though. I thought it might be time to move on, but now that he's coming how am I supposed to?"  
"Do not try to complicate things that can easily stay simple. You should, at the very least, not further your relationship with Kanji while you are still struggling with your feelings for Yosuke. Once you have everything sorted out, then you may do what you please. I don't want anything unnecessary to unfold, Yu. Please heed my advice."  
Yu's hands were on his knees, and he was tense. Naoto looked at him expectantly.  
"Alright, I'll try."


End file.
